You can see Venus, Mars align in a ‘planetary conjunction’ Monday night

The “Red Planet” and the “Evening Star” will soon meet in a near-embrace during one of the best sky-gazing events of the year.

Venus and Mars will appear very close together for a “planetary conjunction” on the night of July 12. In the early hours of the 13th, the pair will be at their closest, according to NASA.

Although the planets will appear to be just half of a degree away from each other, they will actually still be very far away. This illusion is known as a “planetary conjunction,” NASA officials said.

Following the sky-gazing event, Venus will continue to shift to the left each evening away from Mars and toward the bright star Regulus, according to NASA.

NASA said both Venus and Mars are “targets for the next generation of space exploration.” New missions to study Venus have already been announced.

If you plan on watching the “planet conjunction,” you can track the planets’ progress at this website here.

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